Beef Industry Value Chain

[cowman]

In the last edition of the Western Producer there was an article on a study commissioned by the Beef Industry Roundtable on the regulation of bovine protein in animal feed.
Apparently it cost $150,000 paid for by Ag Canada! Anyway the study came in reccommending that banning all cattle remains from the food chain was the most cost effective way to go...which was rejected by the Roundtable!
Now what is this? Why did they waste $150,000 if they had no intentions of following through? Is this a typical government sponsored SNAFU or what? Maybe they should have told the experts what they wanted them to find instead of looking like a complete bunch of fools?
Why waste money on useless groups like this in the first place? Apparently the CFIA is going to write the rules no matter what some pork barrel think tank comes up with?
Do you ever get sick of government wasting your tax dollars on garbage like this?

[PureCountry]

Yes, cowman. Yes I do. Sponsorships, gun registries, secret subsidies, boondoggles, bull$h!t. The list goes on and on and on. And every time I write letters or send e-mails, I get a nice politically correct response of ..."Thank you for voicing your concern Mr. Goodrich. Your letter will be forwarded to a room full of monkeys in cages who love to use 8" X 11.5" letters for @$$wipe. We call this room the 'Think Tank', and the refuse we flush down the drain every day when the lights go out, that's your tax dollar...hopefully this will address your concern. Thank you for your time,

The Hon. Felons


This country sickens me. It's like we're too damn big to get a single movement going to initiate change. We can't organize that many people over such a vast span, or something. Maybe this Western Canadian Separation thing is worth looking into. Form a country half the size we are now, and the voices of those in it might be heard; instead of being drowned out trying to fight for recognition and attention with everyone else and their woes.

[cakadu]

The study you speak of was conducted by the George Morris Centre I believe (www.georgemorris.org).

Personally, I believe that we should be banning any animal parts in feeds that are going to be consumed by animals that will make it into the food chain. Then you have no way that cross-contamination of any kind will happen. Would it be feasible to do so? Yes, in time it would be because animal renderings can and will be turned into things like alternative fuels etc. We may not be so far away from utilizing these waste products in a fairly efficient and cost effective manner.

We need foresight and long-term planning to move into the future.

[pmckenna]

Cakadu,

It is nice to hear a positive and progressive viewpoint toward a problem which is probably essentially because alot of different stakeholders are involved, who probably aren't connecting 100% of the time. Please continue adding perspective.

Cowman, some of your pronouncements can be bullheaded or even absurd, but I imagine you really know what you're doing, and you have to start the ball somewhere.

This is a balance in a process, I'd say.

[cowman]

Well my question was this: If the participants wanted a certain conclusion from this study group, why didn't they tell them what the desired result was before they started? Why tell them " Hey have a look at the problem and come up with an answer"...when they never intended to listen to the study group...unless it brought back the answer they wanted!
Is this dumb or what? In fact doesn't it send a very negative message out to the consumer? Well maybe if any consumer actually listens to this stuff?
Did the Canadian taxpayer get one iota of value for their $150,000?

[cowman]

cowman, don't you realize that many such studies and surveys are geared toward an expected outcome !!!!

Just look at the way the questions are framed on the next ag related one you get from the government !!!

[pmckenna]

Cowman, owe you an apology on my wording, which wasn't so great. But, what I should have said was, I don't think it's a snafu. I have to stand up to being criticised for wasting my own or others money, probably like others once or twice, but I can name a time or two where I've sought advice from accountants or lawyers, to only disagree (and after paying the bill) and decided what I already thought anyway. I guess for propriety, it should be questioned. But, in such a situation where value chains are being discussed, especially with the other turbulences present or future, it distracts us from this very important other thing. I think about a dollar fifty per head of people, not cows, probably a lot less if you consider all the players in a value chain which includes probably another 100,000 people in Alberta, like Breeders, Producers, Auction Marts, Order Buyers, Feedlots, Brokers, Packers, Brokers, Retailers, and in a different way, consumers. You can add in the involved Veterinarians, Lab Staff, Agrologists, Agronomists, Government Staff, (non in that order) maybe some of better accountants, lawyers, equipment providers, software designers, etc, etc, so my only point is that the cost per stakeholder isn't as bas as the big number says, as long as it is analysed by people.

Phew, that better be my diatribe for the year, I'm tired now!